Now, I know I wouldn't be brave enough for Gryffindor or cunning enough for Slytherin. There's no house that mentions eating sugar all day and avoiding exercise, so I'm not really sure where the hat would put me.

Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg, butter flavoring, and vanilla; mix until well-blended.

Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom. (The dough will be quite thick...you may need to knead in stray bits of flour from the bottom of the bowl by hand.)

Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cutter. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Butterbeer Glaze
{This will cover 12 cookies...and I STRONGLY recommend doubling the recipe as you might want to put this in a shot glass and drink it straight.}

Place all of the ingredients in a glass or metal bowl and heat over a pot of simmering water (or a double boiler). Stir occasionally, until melted and smooth.

Put the cooled cookies on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Pour the glaze over the cookies and spread with an offset spatula. If using the fondant house crests, place these on the wet glaze to adhere.
So, here's to Harry, Ron, Hermione...and of course, JK Rowling. Thank you for precious hours (and years!) spent reading aloud, snuggled under blankets with my kiddo. Thank you for casting the *perfect* actors for the movies! Thank you for amazing characters who will stay with us forever...Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Fred, George, Snape, The Dursleys, Professor McGonagall, Bellatrix and Mrs. Weasley (to name a few).
{I could go on....or maybe I already have? I'd love to hear your favorites from Harry Potter!}

Oh my!!! I love these cookies (and the other HP cookies you made too!) For every book that has been released...I have taken my girls to a midnight party at our local bookstore where everyone dressed the part! Harry Potter has been such a part of our lives...I'll miss the little chap!

I just finished re-reading the 7th Harry Potter book and I cried like a baby throughout the last couple of chapters just like I did the first time I read it. I grew up with these books and will miss them and the characters. These cookies sound delicious and I may have to make them for a special Harry Potter occasion (maybe to celebrate the release of Pottermore in October or when I visit Hogwarts at Universal?). Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Those look delicious! We promised our oldest (who just turned nine last week and had a killer HP party! With all you could drink Butterbeer of course!) that if he could finish the books by the time this last movie came out he could go with us. He blew through them in record time and currently has a countdown going on our pantry door (which is a chalkboard) for the movie. We have tickets to see it in IMAX 3D this Saturday! EEE! I'm so excited! I need to make these cookies for it! Thanks for sharing!

Those look amazing!!!! I'll try them! I gotta say I think I would be like harry the sorting would debate wether I should go to Slytherin or Gryffindor :) My faves from the series are killed by Bellatrix so I can't wait to see Molly kicking her ass in the big screen. Yes I loved Sirius and Dobby. I've been blabbing about them on my other blog at http://www.elousions.com/ If you want to read more on it :)

Don't remind me that it's almost over :( Reading the final book was so bittersweet, on one hand I wanted to know what happens on another hand I didn't want to finish it too fast.. Gosh, I only wish they sold butterscotch chips here in Taiwan..

My daughter is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and is going to the movie tomorrow (well, later) night. She said I should make something to celebrate the opening of it, too. I suggested Booger Cookies like the booger Jelly Belly Jellybeans, but she didn't like that idea. Oh well!

My daughter & I attended part one of a Harry Potter Movie marathon last night. The second half starts at noon and ends with the new movie. We cannot wait. Only wish I had time to make these and share them with the other marathon movie goers. The cookies look so YUMMY!! Trista

ok the cookies are absolutely fantastic but I rolled out of my chair reading.."i'm a first born and bossy like that".....I am the baby of three girls and my older, OLDER sister is that way..mother hen.."bossy" which she describes as "I care"...she is fabulous in every way but I had to comment on that!

I'm totally making these for tonight! I'm having friends over to watch Deathly Hallows Part I before we head to the midnight release. I was going to make a cake or something, but these are even better.

When we went on our honeymoon to California nearly 6 years ago we checked out the HP exhibit at the WB studios and would you believe they actually HAD the Sorting Hat there? You put it on and ever so quietly you could hear it hem and haw over what house you should be in. I was Hufflepuff and my husband was Slytherin. It was *so* much fun!

These are fantastic! I've been following your blog for a month or so now, and I am so eager to try some of your techniques for cookies! I attended a Harry Potter party last weekend and made cauldron cakes (essentially modified cupcakes). If anyone wants to check them out, I posted them on my own new-ish food blog, 30 Pounds of Apples.

Oh I wish I had seen these sooner! Kidlet and I are getting ready to head to the theatre now! Ours is running a triple feature of Sorcerer's Stone, Deathly Hallows 1 and then Deathly Hallows 2 at midnight :D woo!

These cookies look delicious! I will save them for Kidlet's birthday :D

Gorgeous! I could lick the monitor :) Where did you find the house crests? With kids at camp we can't go see the movie until next week, I'm tempted to sneak to the movies before then ;) I wish she would write something new, even if it's not HP if she could keep the whole wizarding world and muggles theme.

I made these today but changed the recipe a little so it was gluten-free. Mine are not quite as beautiful as yours, but they will be devoured while we enjoy HP tomorrow! The butterbeer sauce is delicious. Yum.

I posted the recipe (with my changes) on my blog. I made sure to give you and your genius decorating skills credit :)

OK, so i'll be the one not watching the movie (can't sit through movies, i know not a shock) I WILL be the one slamming these cookies in the corner. Love butterscotch & that expression on your sons face!

Great job! These cookies are beautiful! I am a huge Harry Potter fan myself, and just went to the midnight showing last night. What a great way to commemorate the series. I will have to give these cookies a try. Quick question though, did you paint the detail yourself or was it a decal?

I went to a midnight showing double-feature where they showed part one and part two together. I dressed up as Luna Lovegood and had a blast! I cried so hard during the 19 years later. The best part of the movie? When Mrs. Weasly killed Bellatrix and everyone cheered.-Sarah

I am a big HP fan as well, but unfortunately I thought the last movie was a bit disappointing. Just rushed through a lot of important points for me. That said I still love the series and the stories, and LOVE your cookies!

Alright, so in the UK nobody has a clue what 'butter flavouring' is. Can you help a girl out please since we've just had an epic HP weekend (with official Dumbledore wands and such) and we need us some butterbeer flavoured anything.

We also went to see the film Friday and other than a creepy couple intent on procreating two seats to our left, it was amazing. Seriously!!

LOVE these! They are incredible! We are *finally* going to see the last movie tonight, and I can't wait. We will most likely have a Harry Potter marathon w/ some friends when the movie finally comes out on DVD, so I'll save these for our big party. :)

The cookie decorating is flawless!! I tried butterbeer earlier this year and since then have had a strong longing to be reunited with the flavor. These cookies sound like they're EXACTLY what I'm looking for. Thanks for the recipe!

I made a batch of these last night for a fellow HP fan's going-away party. They look great and I had to taste test one, of course, and the glaze is amazing. You were totally right...I wanted to drink the stuff.

My husband and I went to the HP park at Universal Studios in January and had several glasses of butterbear there. These tasted really similar and I think will be a hit at the party tonight!

These look great! I am definitely going to make some the next time I go home so I can send some to my friends who don't go to college with me! They'll love them! :) I won't be able to do the crests though....My printer will not do such things :/

Ive got a party next week I can just see my guests feasting onthese yummiklicious ookies..can u please tell me how many normals sized cookies would this recipe yield? and does the icing harden when it sets or are they gooey and sticky?

I can't wait to try these! My mom and I are both huge Harry Potter fans - we just took our second trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter a few weeks ago, and we have plans for a marathon of the movies every year for Harry's birthday. I will plan on making these for our next one!

1) these are shortbread cookies, not sugar cookies. extremely easy to roll out, but expect the finished goods to have a dryer mouthfeel.2) next time, i'm going to double the glaze recipe, as i didn't have enough for the whole batch anyway, and opening a whole tin of evaporated milk just for 2 tbsp seems like such a waste. 3) i didn't have any butter extract, so didn't add any. still tasted delicious!

don't fool yourselves, you're going to need a glass of milk with this one!

I gave these to my new neighbors as a "welcome to the neighborhood" gesture and they LOVED them...come to find out they love HP as much as I do...our wireless network is Hogwarts Castle and theirs is Gryffindor Tower. Fellow nerd UNITE!

I just made these as a present for a friends and pinched a few, They look and taste ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! they are perfect for a harry potter obsessed pair like us!! Thanks for the recipe!! Also I used tate and lyles golden syrup instead of corn syrup and no butter flavouring as we dont have them here in the uk, and they came out wonderfully! Thanks Again!!